Laura Prepon reveals why motherhood totally threw her away

There is a reason why they say a people is needed.

As hard as you try to find it, there is no comprehensive guide with the answers to all your parenting questions: What should they eat? Are they getting too much time in front of the screen? Am I doing this right? (Spoiler: you are). So we are here to help you. We’ve asked your favorite celebrity moms for their tips, tricks, and tricks to help you get through every breakdown and milestone.

Welcome to E! ‘S Moms in the Moment.

If she had been pressured on the subject, Laura Prepon he surely would have predicted that he would be fine after the birth of his eldest in 2017.

After having worked as a model and actress for more than two decades. the 40-year-old New Jersey native is “usually the rock people go to. I’m the one doing things,” she tells E! News. “People always come to me to handle the matter, whatever it is. I think that’s why I feel so comfortable when I direct because I do well in those high-pressure situations.”

And yet, like her 2-year-old daughter. She Throwing her into the messy, exhausting and indescribable world of parenting, the normally cold and collected star found herself plagued with anxieties. “I was very surprised when I became a mother because of how bold I was and how this seismic change in my life was,” she explains.

Sure, she had been prepared to make life look completely different. She even knew that she was aware of signs of postpartum depression. But this was not that, he says, as much as an almost paralyzing fear that he would no longer be able to protect his daughter from danger in the same way that he had for nine long months.

“This mother bear was ten times,” he describes. “I felt like I couldn’t protect my son from anything: a fire truck driving down the street seemed like an attack on my family. I was so full of anxiety that it wasn’t me. It was stress, it was loss of control because now your baby is out of your body so it’s like your heart is out of your body. I didn’t know how to deal with that and I was really struggling with all of that. “

A conversation with the now husband Ben Foster was the initial advance. She recalls the 39-year-old actor: “It’s like, ‘You can’t be the only one dealing with this.'”

Which, of course, was not, every mom friend she called, from a friend in Los Angeles raising an 18-year-old to That 70’s show co-star Mila Kunis—Confirming that stress and worry were only part of the parenting package. “I realized that we are all dealing with similar things,” he shares. “From how we feel motivated and how it affects us, to stress and loss of control, self-care, mother’s guilt, there are some of these things that we are all dealing with to some degree.”

Conversations became the cornerstone of You and Me, as Mothers: A Raw and Honest Guide to Motherhood, Prepon’s new book that sees her weaving her friends’ experiences with her own. Explain the Orange is the new black alum, who expanded his family with the arrival of his son in late February, “there are all these different points of view so that any reader can have something to take away.”

She packs some for us.

Find your squad.
There is a reason why this tops the advice lists of many blogging moms. For the actress, who sings the praises of her “eclectic and wonderful group of women,” realizing that her new concerns were a shared experience helped. Even friends with children much older than hers could relate: “There are all these things that we’re dealing with to different degrees, even though we’re in different areas of our lives.”

Connecting with other parents in your life might ease the burden a bit and can certainly deepen your connection. Years after they worked together on That 70’s show, she and Kunis, now mother to daughter Wyatt5 and son Dimitri3 with husband Ashton Kutcher, stay close. “Because we both understand what the other has been through, you can’t help that relationship from being deeper and more understanding,” she says.

Prepon has even reached a new level with his three sisters: “We are now mothers and our relationship has changed in a much deeper way because of that.”

Teamwork? Yes, it makes the dream work.
This is how Prepon feels about being the father of her husband for two years. “If you are raising your children with a partner, that partner refills you and you lean on each other and ask for help,” she says. “That needs to stay strong.”

Frequent recommendation for late night dating is important. “If you can’t have someone to care for your children, find a way to do it at home,” she suggests. These past few weeks have certainly shown how possible that is. “After you put your kids to bed,” he says, “make dinner, hang out, join in, have some wine. It’s about making that time.”

Her and Foster’s other signature moves include “sticking a little Post-it in the bathroom on the mirror that says,” I love you, “or just giving accessories to handle that awakening in the middle of the night.” Even just saying thank you, being grateful, making the other person feel seen and heard, “she says.” Little things like that go a long way and we are really good at it and it’s really important. I feel like a lot of couples don’t know that even those simple little things make a big difference. “

Take a second for yourself.
Ideally, a few minutes. “All the mothers I interviewed for my book, and for me, we all have some form of meditation,” reveals Prepon, who practices Transcendental Meditation with her husband.

Even if she can’t squeeze in a full session, “every time I have a few minutes if I’m acting or directing or doing my virtual book tour, I find a time in the day to just sit and close my eyes and try to focus on my breath, “he shares. “Of course, you’re going to be thinking about work and all these things will occur to you, or, ‘Oh, I have to prepare this for my son,’ or whatever, but if I have those a few minutes, I really try to reduce the speed of my breathing and rest a little while I can. “

Do the prep work.
Although Prepon has said that he considers cooking to be meditative, it is less relaxing when he is struggling trying to prepare nutritious meals. With less time on your hands, The hiding plan the author came across some cooking tricks. Since smoothies are a big part of her diet, she says, “I freeze a lot of vegetables like kale and spinach, so I just take a handful and throw it away.”

The measure ensures that she and her family receive their vegetable servings and also works with larger dishes. Instead of starting from scratch every time, she will prepare large quantities of foods to have on hand and she makes sure “to have a protein that is prepared in my refrigerator, like a chicken breast or rice and potatoes and some type of vegetable so I can prepare lunch quickly, “he shares. “I try to prepare food in advance whenever I can because it just makes everything so much easier.”

When possible, find the fun.
At Prepon’s house, that’s the General Foster concert. The veteran film and television actor has been working to keep things light while his social distance at home. “Children capture so many things energetically, they have like a little antenna, they only perceive energy, so my husband and I try to stay informed, but we make sure that our children don’t feel any of that stress or fear about what is happening , “says Prepon. “We really try to stay optimistic and find lightness where we can.” However, as she admits, “It helps that my husband is the funniest person I’ve ever met.”

In addition to enjoying their comic moment and fun online clips, they are trying to focus on extra time with their recently expanded family, the opportunity to create an instant bond with their children. “Having our newborn, we’re really just trying to hug this time and not let him be surrounded by the fear that’s going on,” she says. “I think we have done well. I am proud of how we can handle it.”

Looking to manage your own quarantine situation? Borrow these ideas from Molly sims and Kelly Rowland.